mascarpone

I’ve been making a lot of tarts lately, partially because all my pie plates are currently packed away in preparation for our move in a couple weeks — but also because they’re just so fun, elegant, and easy. Tarts are a good vehicle for using up those bits of leftover curd, fruit, jam, etc. in the fridge. This berry mascarpone tart was no exception. I had a little bit of mascarpone left over from all the wedding cake adventures earlier this month, so I added it to some pastry cream and it was soooo good! Creamy but not too heavy and perfect with some fresh berries — basically, an ideal summer dessert.

The tart crust is similar to the one I posted a couple weeks ago, though the proportions are courtesy of Pierre Herme. A little almond flour adds wonderful flavor and slightly crisper texture. I prepared the crust the same way I did the last (mixing in food processor, rolling out right after mixing and freezing the dough in the pan before baking), and it worked like a charm. To add a little texture I mixed up a little almond crumble, because crumbs just make everything better.

Method

Place the flour, icing sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.

Scatter the butter over the top of the flour mixture. Pulse several times until the butter is cut in (you want irregular pieces ranging in size from a pea to a quarter).

Whisk the egg and vanilla together lightly to combine. Add the egg mixture in stages, pulsing after each addition. Once the egg is added, pulse in 10 second increments until the dough forms clumps (you don’t want it completely smooth). Once the dough reaches this stage, dump it onto a clean countertop or silpat and gently knead until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into two equal portions and reserve one for a future tart (well-wrapped, you can refrigerate it for a couple days, or freeze for a month). Place the remaining piece of dough between two Silpats (or pieces of plastic wrap) and roll it out into a roughly 12-inch circle of about a 1/4″ thickness. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Lightly grease a 9-inch tart tin. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and let it stand for about 5 minutes, just to make it pliable. Turn dough into the tart tin and trim the overhang to about 1/2 an inch. Fold the overhang in to reinforce the edges. If there are any tears or cracks, use some of the extra dough to patch it up. Pierce the dough all over with a fork, then wrap in plastic and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a piece of foil and fit it firmly over the chilled tart dough. Put the tart tin on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil (if the crust has risen at all press it down gently with the back of a spoon). If any cracks have formed, use some of the reserved dough to patch it. Bake crust for another 5-10 minutes, or until firm and golden brown. Allow to cool completely before filling.

For the Mascarpone Cream:

Place the mascarpone in a medium bowl and set a fine mesh strainer over it.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, egg yolk, and sugar together until smooth. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously to combine (ensure there are no lumps!).

In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until just at the boil. Remove from heat; and slowly but steadily pour it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. When all the milk has been added, pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium-low heat, still whisking constantly. Once the mixture thickens and begins to bubble, cook the mixture for a minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. You now have pastry cream!

Scrape the pastry cream into the strainer onto the mascarpone, pushing it through with a spatula or spoon. Let the mixture stand for ~30 seconds, then whisk to combine. Cover the mascarpone cream with plastic, making sure the plastic touches the surface of the cream so a skin doesn’t form. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1/2 an hour before using.

For the Almond Crumble:

Preheat oven to 300F and line a small baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

Combine the almonds and flour in a small bowl. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the sugar and salt.

Pour the mixture into a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown, stirring every 5 minutes to ensure even baking.

To assemble:

Whisk the mascarpone cream until smooth and spreadable. Using an offset spatula, spread the mascarpone cream evenly in the tart shell. Top with fresh berries and crumble. Serve chilled with additional crumble on the side. Best served within a day of assembling, but leftovers keep pretty well in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.

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This cake. Oh, this cake. I spent a lot of time imagining the different components before actually baking it, and was so happy that it just worked. It’s actually one of the layers of my brother’s upcoming wedding cake, where my guidelines were cardamom plus something fruity. The cake part was pretty easy — just a slight tweak to my favorite vanilla cake was all it took. For the filling I finally settled on a very lightly sweetened strawberry jam. Strawberries + balsamic is a favorite in our house, and I think it matches well with that woodsy cardamom flavor. Next time I’m making a double batch of jam — it’s so delicious, whether spread between cake layers, stirred into yogurt, or just eaten out of the jar. Not to mention easy — just mix and roast!

This white chocolate mascarpone buttercream is a grown-up version of cream cheese frosting. Normally I don’t care much for white chocolate, but here it offsets the tanginess of the cheeses nicely. (Definitely don’t skimp on the quality of chocolate, though! Good chocolate will make or break this frosting.) The mascarpone mellows out the flavor, though you can replace with more cream cheese if you prefer. This frosting spreads and pipes well if used right away too — and no icing sugar means no grittiness! Winning.

Add butter and vegetable oil to flour mix and mix on low for 30 seconds to moisten dry ingredients. The mixture should look like wet sand.

Add half of egg mixture and beat on medium-high for 1 minute. Add the remaining egg mixture and beat on low for 30 seconds more.

Divide evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset palette knife. Bake for about 25-35 minutes until the cake is well done (the top should feel springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean). Cool 10-20 minutes in pan and then turn out to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting; wrap in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate/freeze if using more than a day later. (I definitely recommend chilling the cakes completely before assembling.)

For the Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Jam:

Combine all ingredients in a roasting pan and stir to combine well. Allow mixture to sit for 15-30 minutes to macerate. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 275F.

Roast for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should look dark and syrupy.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before transferring to a jar and refrigerating. I let the jam cool completely in the fridge and puree it in a food processor before using as cake filling. You can strain the jam beforehand if you like a thicker jam, though I didn’t find this necessary. If you choose to strain, definitely reserve the syrup for brushing on cake layers / adding to drinks / drizzling on ice cream!

For the White Chocolate Mascarpone Buttercream:

Place white chocolate in a microwaveable bowl.

Microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until chocolate is mostly melted. Before chocolate is completely melted, stir until smooth allowing the residual heat to finish the melting process. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

Place softened cream cheese, mascarpone and butter in a large bowl and beat on low speed until creamy.
Beat mixture on low speed until creamy and well combined.

Add melted white chocolate and continue mixing on low to incorporate. Scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.

Add in lemon juice and beat until smooth. Use immediately.

To Assemble:

Tint your buttercream and level cakes if desired. Place one cake round on a cake board and brush generously with simple syrup.

Pipe a dam of buttercream around the edge and fill the center with about 1/4 c strawberry jam. Repeat process until all layers have been used, placing the last layer cut side down.

Spread an even layer of buttercream over the entire cake to seal in the crumbs. If you’re doing the ruffle pattern as pictured, I suggest doing a thick crumb coat (i.e. try not to have cake layers visible). Chill cake for 20-30 minutes to set the frosting.

Complete frosting as desired. I followed this tutorial for the ruffle pattern. For the top, I tinted the buttercream slightly darker and used an open star tip to pipe rosettes and stars, then finished with a light dusting of white sprinkles.

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